SANTA MONICA- On Monday, May 31, 2021, at approximately 1:38 p.m., a man was seen waving a gun and yelling in the 1500 Block of Palisades Park in Santa Monica. Within minutes several officers with the Santa Monica Police Department (SMPD) arrived on the scene and were able to detain the man and retrieve the BB gun.
The victim, a 54-year-old homeless man, told officers that he was standing in the park when the suspect, Kyle Leon Castaneda, a 38-year-old man from Los Angeles, accused the victim of stealing his shoes.
It is alleged that Castaneda was standing about ten feet from the victim when he shot at the victim several times in the face and upper torso, according to preliminary information. One of the BBs hit the victim in the right eye, rupturing the globe. The victim also had several small lacerations to the back of his head and a pellet lodged in the top of his head.
The victim was transported to a local hospital for ongoing treatment of his eye injury. Castaneda is being charged with assault with a deadly weapon, battery with great bodily injury, and assault with a BB gun.
Anyone with any additional information pertaining to this incident can contact the Criminal Investigations Division at 310-458-8451.
